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Americans trusted Zantac as an antacid for over thirty years until it was recently recalled. Laboratory results revealed that Zantac contained a carcinogen, causing those who took it to get cancer. Further, Zantac’s manufacturer continued to produce the drug even though it knew that might possibly cause cancer. Phoenix Zantac injury lawyers can advocate for those who have taken Zantac and help them recover for their injuries.
If you or a loved one took Zantac and were later diagnosed with cancer, talk with a Phoenix personal injury attorney. A Zinda Law Group lawyer can hear how you were affected by Zantac and give you a free consultation. Call (800) 863-5312 today to speak with our experienced lawyers.
For a free legal consultation with a zantac lawyer serving Phoenix, call 800-863-5312
What is zantac?
Zantac is the name of a popular antacid medication that has been sold as a prescription and over the counter medication. Its key ingredient, ranitidine, reduces the amount of acid in the stomach, and people used Zantac for ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD causes stomach acid to frequently flow back into the esophagus and irritate the esophagus’s lining. Ranitidine stops cells from producing too much stomach acid, which allows ulcers and the esophageal lining to heal.
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Why Are There Zantac Lawsuits?
Zantac was manufactured by Pfizer from 2000 to 2006 and by Sanofi from 2006 to present-day. At the time they sold Zantac, the manufacturers allowed consumers to believe that the drug was safe. Unfortunately, Zantac’s regulators had already discovered that it contained N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which is linked to cancer in animals and is believed to cause cancer in humans.
The news of NDMA in Zantac went public when the FDA issued a warning for consumers to stop taking it in September of 2019. The FDA advised consumers to return Zantac to a take back site, since flushing it down the toilet could eventually release the carcinogen into drinking water. The FDA officially requested that manufacturers recall Zantac on April 1, 2020.
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What happens in a zantac lawsuit?
Those who took Zantac and later received a cancer diagnosis should consider making a claim against Zantac’s manufacturer. Victims claim that manufacturers did not tell them that Zantac would be dangerous even though manufacturers knew that the drug might cause cancer. Two kinds of personal injury claims, negligence and product liability, are often appropriate in such cases.
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Negligence Claims
In order to prove that the manufacturer was negligent, you must show that it owed you a duty of care, that it breached its duty of care to you, that you suffered an injury for which you can receive compensation, and that the manufacturer caused your injury. Zantac’s manufacturer owed you a duty of care when it designed, researched, marketed, manufactured, supplied, tested, and distributed the drug. It may have failed to exercise that duty of care when it continued to produce a drug that it potentially knew could cause cancer.
Next, you must have been injured in a way that allows you to recover under the law. If you got cancer from taking Zantac, your injury is likely compensable. Finally, the manufacturer must have directly and proximately caused your injury. You must not have received cancer for a reason other than taking Zantac (such as genetics). Some cancers are more closely linked with Zantac use than others, so having one of the associated cancers may strengthen your case.
Product Liability Claims
Product liability is the strict liability that manufacturers face when products injure consumers. It encompasses three distinct categories: marketing defects, design defects, and manufacturing defects.
A defectively marketed product could be improperly labeled, provide insufficient instructions, or fail to provide safety warnings. A defectively designed product is defective before it is manufactured since the product itself is inherently dangerous. Courts often require those alleging design defects to show how the product could have been designed to be safer. Last, a defectively manufactured device became defected during assembly.
To prove that the manufacturer is strictly liable for your Zantac injury, you must show that:
- The manufacturer sold Zantac at the time you purchased it.
- The manufacturer was the commercial seller of Zantac.
- You suffered an injury (cancer).
- When the manufacturer sold Zantac, it was defective.
- The defect was the actual and proximate cause of your injury.
Read More: Product Liability Lawyers
SIGNIFICANT Zantac Lawsuits
Two cases helped bring Zantac litigation into public consciousness and helped lawyers understand how to help victims recover for their losses after taking Zantac. The first, Galimidi v. Sanofi, was filed in September of 2019. Joseph Galimidi took Zantac to combat his heartburn and acid reflux, and he was later diagnosed with male breast cancer in 2013. He blamed Zantac (and, more specifically, its manufacturer Sanofi) for the cancer, claiming that Sanofi was negligent and strictly liable for his cancer.
The second case, Blake v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, was filed about a month after Galimidi v. Sanofi. In that case, Mark Allan Blake began taking prescription Zantac in 1996 before switching to over-the-counter Zantac. He took the drug at least four times a week and eventually was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2018. His complaint contains a claim for negligence and two claims for strict liability—one for its defective marketing and one its defective design—among other claims.
These cases have yet to be resolved, but more class actions and individual cases continue to pop up around the country. Your case might more appropriately be filed with a class action or on its own. Talk with a Zantac lawyer to learn your options.
What kinds of cancer have been associated with zantac?
As you recall, you must suffer an injury to be eligible for compensation under the law. Whether you file a negligence claim, a product liability claim, or both, your lawsuit stands a higher likelihood of success if you can show that you got cancer from taking Zantac. The cancers that have been most commonly associated with Zantac are thyroid, bladder, breast, and prostate cancer.
What can a Phoenix personal injury lawyer do?
If you took Zantac and got cancer, you might wonder whether you should hire an attorney to help you pursue compensation. You may wonder whether you are even able to recover for your injury based on the facts of your case. Speak with a personal injury attorney before deciding whether to hire a lawyer and file suit. This could ultimately save you time if the attorney informs you that you may not be able to pursue compensation.
File Your Claim
Once you have met with a lawyer and decided to file your claim, an attorney can help ensure you are filing correctly. This includes distinguishing the correct defendant, stating the correct cause or causes of action, and meeting all deadlines. To find the correct defendant, your lawyer can help you determine which manufacturer produced Zantac when you used it.
Several causes of action could be appropriate in a Zantac injury claim. We have discussed personal injury claims like negligence and product liability, but there are other claims common to these cases. Alternatively, you may wish to sue on behalf of a loved one who passed away after taking Zantac and getting cancer, which would be a wrongful death claim.
To meet the deadline to file your case, you must file within Arizona’s statute of limitations. Typically, Arizona has a statute of limitations of two years for personal injury claims, which means you have two years from the day you are injured to file your claim before it expires. However, with cases like yours in which you can only discover the injury later, the deadline applies two years after you knew or should have known that Zantac caused your cancer. If you are unsure about whether your claim falls within the statute of limitations, speak with a lawyer.
Perform Discovery
Next, your lawyer can help you gather the evidence you need to prove all the elements of your claim during the discovery phase of litigation. Specifically, your lawyer can help you choose witnesses—such as doctors or family members who know you took Zantac—and depose them to decide who might testify for you if your case goes to trial. Your attorney then exchanges this information with the defendant so that all parties are well-informed about the facts of the case.
Settle with the Defendant
The last stage of litigation will be settlement or trial. Since neither party generally wants to go through a trial with a jury, your attorney negotiates with the defendant’s attorney to attempt to reach a fair settlement amount. The manufacturer’s lawyers may prepare defenses to your claims that you must argue against. You can rely on the talent of a personal injury lawyer to fight for your case.
Read More: Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
What should you do if you took zantac?
Consult with a Lawyer
Before you make any decisions regarding your potential lawsuit, speak with a Phoenix personal injury lawyer. Explain the timeline of when you began taking Zantac, the amount and frequency with which you took it, whether you got cancer, and what kind of cancer you have or had. If you did not get cancer but want to sue Zantac’s manufacturer anyway, you might be able to recover for the injury in a class action. Such actions are possible because Zantac’s manufacturers did not warn the drug’s consumers about the dangers of using Zantac. Ask a lawyer how much your case is worth and what they can do to help you.
Collect Proof of Your Injury
Once your lawyer has confirmed that your case is strong enough to proceed, gather evidence to prove the elements of your claim pertaining to your injury. First, show that you took Zantac on a regular basis by providing empty Zantac bottles, prescriptions, receipts if you took over-the-counter Zantac, and diagnoses for GERD or another condition for which you took Zantac. You will probably not be able to show that Zantac caused your cancer if you only took it a handful of times.
Next, gather evidence to show that you got cancer after taking Zantac regularly. Recall all the care providers you saw and create a file containing every appointment, diagnosis, treatment, and bill that relates to your cancer. The more information you can find about your injury, the more compensation you might be able to receive as economic damages. A lawyer can help you track down this information if you are unable to find all of it.
Last, for both negligence and product liability, you must show that Zantac gave you cancer. If you are able to show that you took Zantac and that you had cancer after taking it, your attorney can probably take care of the rest of the causal link for you. The research showing that there is NMDA in Zantac will likely suffice for this part of your claim.
Read More: What Do I Do if I Used a Product That Causes Cancer?
Compensation for zantac victims
The amount of compensation you receive in a Zantac case depends on the damages you suffered. Damages relate to the financial and emotional loss caused by your injury. They can be economic, non-economic, or punitive.
Economic damages refer to those easily calculable, strictly financial expenses that you paid to correct the injury the manufacturer caused you. They include medical bills, missed wages from time away from work, and funeral expenses if you are litigating on behalf of a loved one who took Zantac and then died of cancer. Non-economic damages compensate you for the pain and suffering the defendant caused you. If you lost a loved one because of Zantac, non-economic damages could nominally make up for your loss of companionship.
Courts award punitive damages in special cases. Punitive damages, as the name implies, are intended to punish the manufacturer and stop it from committing the same tort in the future. Courts may find it appropriate to award punitive damages in Zantac cases because of the number of people affected.
Our Zinda law group Zantac lawyers want to hear from you today
If you took Zantac and eventually got cancer, you may be entitled to compensation. Or, if your loved one took Zantac and died of cancer, your lawsuit could help stop the manufacturer from knowingly allowing the production of cancer-causing drugs in the future. Our Zinda Law Group personal injury lawyers want to hear from you and help you decide your next steps.
Our compassionate attorneys are prepared to help you navigate the legal process. Call (800) 863-5312 to connect with a Zinda Law Group Phoenix personal injury attorney. We offer our No Win, No Fee Guarantee to our clients in addition to the free consultation. You do not owe us unless we win your case for you.
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